


it still hurts

by kennysspace



Series: almost paradise - part two [8]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21994051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kennysspace/pseuds/kennysspace
Summary: almost paradise: part two - chapter eight of fifteenfeelings are starting to bubble over; you and steve are pushing each other's buttons.
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Henderson Reader, Steve Harrington/Reader, Steve Harrington/You
Series: almost paradise - part two [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1571503
Kudos: 42





	it still hurts

this is also being updated to my tumblr. you can find it [here](https://yelennabelova.tumblr.com)

* * *

Your hair whips in the wind, head snapping to the line of trees as you freeze. It happens so abruptly that Lucas runs into your back and nearly knocks the two of you into the gravel. 

“What?” Dustin asks, his concerned expression moving between the dark forest and your wild eyes, “Did you see something?”

“No, I just-” You pause, fingers tensing around the backpack strap, “I thought I heard something.” Steve moves the flashlight’s beam to where the four of you have turned and your heart sinks in defeat, shoulders slumping as you find the culprit.

He scoffs as the light reveals the tail of a raccoon scampering away in fear, and Dustin pats your arm as you feel your cheeks flush in embarrassment.

“Feeling a little unhinged are we?” Steve says as he turns back to the railroad tracks while you shake your head in disbelief; you can’t believe that he’s going to start this again, considering the circumstances.

“I didn’t realize that the King was gonna be making a comeback this year,” You reply as the group begins to walk again. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve questions as his tone turns bitter, slowing his pace a touch; Dustin sigh in annoyance before you answer, preparing himself for what’s to come.

You shrug, “Oh you know, King Steve - asshole of Hawkins High. I didn’t know we’d be seeing more of him.”

Steve rolls his eyes as you provoke him further. He’s growing very tired of the guilt-tripping you’ve subjected him to - placing false blame on him for your sour mood. He knows who got your friendship to this point.

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Steve shines the flashlight in your direction, sending it right into your eyes, causing you to blink rapidly, “You’re the one who caused this mess in the first place. Can’t keep your mouth shut long enough until you’re screwin’ something up.”

Your brows crease as you feel rage roll over you, stopping dead in your tracks again. Maybe you’re better off without him. If this is how he’s reacting to your feelings for him, then perhaps you saved yourself from a world of trouble. 

“I didn’t cause this, your precious Nancy did!” You spit at him. Steve’s spun back to face you in an instant, freeing one of his hands as he matches your rage. 

“Leave her out of this,” Steve’s voice is unwavering as he gestures in your direction with his finger, taking a few steps forward, “This is between you and me.”

You’re barely three feet apart now and your nostrils flare as your calm demeanor starts to get chipped away at again, “How can I? She’s got everything to do with it!”

“You know what? I knew it-” Steve scoffs again, eyes wandering away from you, “This whole time, I knew you never liked her. So what? You just couldn’t take it anymore, could you? You feel so threatened by her that you had to do something about it!”

“You’re right, I never liked her!” You exclaim, throat burning at the emotion that’s spilling out into the open, “But don’t you  _ dare  _ think for a  _ second  _ that you can protect her anymore. I’m sorry you were too blind to see who she really is.”

“You don’t know a damn thing about Nancy. You never have,” Steve fires back, raising his voice as you continue to bring up the painful memories of the girl he loves. Your negative response to their relationship starts to make more sense inside his mind; you were never able to express your anger about it until now - with her out of the picture.

“I know more than you think, Harrington. I’m not an idiot like you-”

“ _ Alright! _ ”  _ D _ ustin shouts, stepping between you and Steve, who had only grown closer together during both of your states of clouded rage. He shoves you away from each other and Steve resists at first; he’s not prepared to back down just yet.

“Could you two  _ please  _ shut up? I can’t take it anymore!” Dustin says as his gaze moves between your faces, anxiously waiting for the tension to dissipate, “We need to get back so we can figure out where to look for Dart.”

Shame begins to flood your mind as you realize that you had forgotten the kids were here - they had bared witness to your outburst. Tears begin to pool behind your eyes at the thought and you look away from Steve’s scornful glare before he can notice your reaction. You don’t realize that he does.

“How are we even sure that was Dart?” Lucas asks.

“He had the same yellow pattern on his back, I’m sure,” Dustin responds, turning to him. Max’s nose crinkles before she joins the conversation, “But that thing was puny two days ago.”

“He’s probably molted at least three times since then,” You clear your throat, “You know, made room for more growth. We’re gonna have to find ‘em before it happens again.”

“Yeah, cause then he’s gonna a lot more than just cats,” Steve says under his breath. Lucas’ focus snaps to Dustin, “Wait - a cat?”

Dustin’s expression turns into one of shock and the other boy pushes his shoulder to get an answer, “Dart ate a cat?”

“No!” You and your brother say in unison before you continue, “Definitely not!”

“What are you two talking about? He ate Mews,” Steve answers, confusion gracing his features. Your eyes widen and you move your hand over your neck, signaling for him to stop talking.

“Mews?” Max questions, looking over to Steve, “Who’s Mews?”

“That’s their cat-”

“I knew it!” Lucas interrupts and you curse as your free hand moves through your hair, “You two kept him!”

You spin to the boy, “I didn’t even know about that...  _ thing  _ until it had already eaten its way through our pet!”

Dustin slaps your arm, “It’s not my fault that you were off doing God knows what with whoever it is you’re selling your soul to.” 

“You didn’t even tell your own sister?” Max says before you can respond to your brother, and she points to herself, “Even I knew!”

“This is unbelievable-” Lucas huffs, hands animated in the air, “You broke the rule of law!”

Your eyes practically roll into the back of your skull as you move away from them, shaking your head lightly before stepping off of the tracks. Steve’s attention is drawn to your reaction, watching as you kick stones away in frustration with the situation and yourself.

The kids bickering only heightens in volume, but that doesn’t stop the two of you from hearing the roars that come from the forest beyond. Your fingers grip the handle of your weapon just a little bit tighter, “You hear that too?” 

Steve nods slightly as he moves his flashlight to the trees and the noises echo again. You share a quick look with him before you’re running off, him close on your heels. Dustin throws his arms up, “Where the hell are they going? Why are you heading  _ towards _ the noise?”

You’re out of breath once you reach the drop-off; Steve’s eyes scour the landscape, “Where are they going?”

“I don’t know-” You start to say before you get startled by Lucas, who comes to your side with his binoculars in hand. He’s quiet and focused until he freezes, finger motioning towards the building in the distance, “There!”

“The lab,” Dustin mutters as Lucas tosses the binoculars to him. Your stomach lurches at your first view of the lab and your brother continues, “They were going back.”

You groan, a scowl quickly takes shape over your face once again, “Of course they were.”

* * *

As the five of you begin the hike down through the forest, everything grows quiet again. Except for the muttering between the kids, their bickering hasn’t changed. While you’ve grown quiet because of guilt, Steve’s still silently fuming at your words from earlier.

How could claim to know so much about Nancy? You haven’t spent time with her - you barely want to acknowledge her presence when she’s around you; not to mention the way you turn away from him when he brings her up.

“Wait-” You mutter, bringing your hand up as a signal to the kids to stop; peculiar sounds are echoing through the air as you approach the lab, “I think there’s someone out there.”

“Are you positive?” Steve drawls, glancing at you from the corner of his eye, which you promptly return. 

“What, are we just not going to check?” You gesture with the pipe in the direction of the noise and Steve doesn’t want to admit that you’re right. So he just keeps walking, continuing towards it and you don’t know why he insists on frustrating you so much.

But you weren’t expecting to meet  _ them  _ here.

Seeing Nancy standing at the gate to Hawkins Lab makes your blood run cold. Your pace slows as you realize that you haven’t had an encounter since Tina’s, and yet you can’t find yourself able to look away from her. 

Although seeing Nancy deflates Steve a bit, it’s noticing Jonathan by her side that twists the knife further. They haven’t even split for an entire week and she’s moved on already.

The three kids look between the defeated expression you have as they approach; you can already feel yourself recoiling from the conversation before it’s even begun.

* * *

Your arms fold over your chest as you stare at the night sky, watching the clouds cover the stars as you  _ desperately  _ attempt to focus on something else; you had to separate yourself from the group in order to clear your head. The far wall of the gatehouse seemed good enough, just away from everyone’s view.

Roars echo from beyond the lab and you tense at the sound, gripping the pipe in your hand just a little bit tighter. Protecting yourself from the Demogorgon was a cake walk compared to this; defending your brother and his friends stresses you to no end.

You’re startled out of your trance by the kids, who quickly apologize after noticing how poorly you react. Waving away their concerns before resting your head against the wall, you steady yourself with a clean, deep breath.

“We just wanted to check if you were okay,” Lucas begins, shoving his hands into his pockets before Dustin continues, “Yeah, you just seem really overwhelmed.”

A small smile spreads over your lips at their words and you move to swipe your thumb over your brother’s cheek, “You’re sweet, but you kids shouldn’t be worrying about me.”

“You worry about us all the time,” Dustin says, returning the smile.

“Well that’s cause you’re little shits that’ve gotten into trouble more times than I can count.”

Lucas playfully punches your shoulder at your remark, and when they don’t respond back and watch you with expectant eyes, you can tell that they’re waiting for an answer. Maybe they have a right to ask.

You clear your throat before averting your gaze to the pavement, “I’ve just been, um-”

Your eyes scan upwards to land on Steve, who’s studying Nancy’s interactions with Jonathan. The hurt expression on his face gives you pause.

“It’s been a rough couple of days,” You move your attention back down to the ground as quickly as before, “Just a lot to take in.” Max and Lucas share an uneasy glance at the pain behind your tone; something that you hadn’t even tried to include - it just came with the topic.

Dustin still focuses on you, his brows furrowed in curiosity; what could’ve caused this amount of worry on your conscious?

“It’ll pass, I know that. You know, regardless of whether or not it gets better. But uh-” Tears begin to pool and your voice trembles a touch, just enough for the three of them to notice, “It still hurts.”

Max is the first one to hug you; she collides into your side, and the force with which she does so almost knocks you to the ground. Watching how selflessly you and Steve stepped up to protect them tugged at her heartstrings in a way that she wouldn’t have expected. Especially not from the people in this town.

Feeling her arms wrap around your middle washes a wave of relief over you in a way that you can’t quite understand. You haven’t even known her for an entire evening and she’s already so taken with you; it makes you weak.

Dustin and Lucas join almost immediately afterwards, their presence and affection making you overwhelmed in a different sort of way. You don’t know how you got so lucky when it came to them.

* * *

Seeing Will like this - there are no words to express how sad you feel. Watching Hopper carry the boy’s limp body into the Byers’ house floods your mind with the image of him floating in the quarry. Even though you later discovered that Will was alive, that moment has remained terrifying; the memory of that night encompasses you enough to the point where you debate following everyone inside.

But once you cross through the threshold, it’s the sight of the living room that sets you off.

There’s a dark stain on the hardwood floor from where Nancy and Jonathan slit open their palms in front of you. 

The meandering paper trails remind you a bit too much of the chaotic flashing lights. 

The new coffee table sends the image of the Demogorgon smashing through the ceiling into your brain.

And after finding out about Bob’s death? You’re barely hanging on by a thread. 

He didn’t deserve that - he didn’t deserve any of this. He was completely innocent, just trying to help Joyce and her family through their difficulties; instead he got roped into the hellish nightmare that’s been terrorizing Hawkins.

You can’t stop your imagination from running wild, thinking up all the different ways that he could’ve been torn apart by those creatures. Your face scrunches up at the thought of him lying there left for dead; it nearly makes you sick to your stomach. 

But there’s no time to mourn; especially after the puzzle pieces start to fall into place.

Once Dustin figured out the parallel to the Mind Flayer, everything blurs together. The group milled about, determined and hopeful that Hopper’s plan is going to work - even if it is a long shot.

The Byers’ retreated to the shed to communicate with Will a few minutes ago and thankfully, Nancy decided to join them. Neither you nor Steve know what you would’ve done had she stayed. 

You hate the bitterness that hangs between you both - it stains the air. Even the kids around you can sense it; Mike takes a spot in front of you to attempt to keep conversation.

He doesn’t mind how absent you seem, how your eyes track back to Steve every five seconds - he only minds how you deflate every time you do. They all seem to have unanimously decided not to ask. 

Well, except for Max apparently. 

“Okay, what the hell happened between you two?” Her voice breaks the silence but the rest of them turn their eyes onto you and Steve. The boy in question turns, lips pouted in confusion. He shrugs and glances your way; you want to scoff.

He rejected you and now he’s playing stupid?

“Weren’t you guys like best friends?” She continues and you don’t answer, your eyes on Steve. You ignore how they burn slightly, ignore how you’re afraid of his answer. Steve exhales loudly, pulling the tea towel that was hanging on his shoulder off in an exasperated motion.

“I thought so too,” His voice gets quiet, eyes on the floor as an unpleasant tone seeps into his words, “But last I checked, best friends don’t go around breaking up the others relationship.”

Confusion grips your chest, your lips parting in surprise.

_ What?  _

It must show on your face as Steve’s the one who scoffs, his eyes on you now, “Oh please, don’t act so innocent. I know what you talked to Nancy about at Tina’s party.” 

Dustin whispers something to Lucas and you shift in your seat, swallowing heavily as you try to grapple your emotions. What the hell is he on about?

“I did but... I didn’t tell her to break up with you!” You exclaim, getting to your feet in your own defense. 

Somewhere along the way something had been miscommunicated. It makes a little more sense now - the reason Steve had turned from you in the halls, why he had disappeared from your life.

He thought you had betrayed him; though you went green with the thought of Nancy and dreamed dozens of ways to show Steve she wasn’t right for him, you knew he cared for her.

Truth be told, you loved him too much to hurt him.

“What did you talk about then, hmm?” He asks, arms folded now, brows raised as he waits for your answer. The question brings you back to the night, back to your woozy tipsy brain and the words you had yelled at Nancy. 

Back to her replies, her “I’ve seen the way you look at him” that crushed your heart in a way she didn’t even know. Back to the anger you felt because she was Nancy Wheeler, the it girl, the one who could have any guy and she had the one, the only one you’ve ever wanted and she didn’t even care.

Your flushing cheeks bring you back to the situation at hand but you can’t give Steve an answer. You don’t have one he wants to hear, not the one you want to give. He sighs angrily, tossing the tea towel onto the couch as he strides towards the door.

“I’m getting some air,” He declares and pulls it open. 

At some point your feet start moving, following him and the words bubble up in your throat because it’s right there - the answer! You can feel your eyes burning as the realization hits you about the conversation in the hallway; his anger, his tone, all directed at you for the wrong reasons.

He doesn’t even know how you feel. You had let your heart draw you to a conclusion that was easier to accept.

It feels like you can’t breathe because suddenly, everything has flipped and it all makes sense, the relief makes you want to cry. The rotten thoughts of how he had returned to being an asshole pang in guilt because you were  _ so  _ wrong about him once again.

You say his name, feeling breathless from the rush of realization as you step out onto the porch. He’s sat on the stairs, head in his hands and when you speak, he doesn’t move. You move closer, trying to think about what to say.

How do you even explain this mess? 

“Steve, I-” 

“You what?” He interrupts angrily, pulling his head up and turning to face you. His expression changes when he seems the tears rimming your eyes, the same confusion you feel is echoed on his face. You take the silence as your time to speak. 

“Me and Nancy did talk at Tina’s,” You begin and Steve moves his gaze out to the night before him, eyes scanning the horizon, “But, I didn’t tell her to break up with you. At least, I don’t think I did.” 

You sigh, sinking down onto the porch stairs, keeping your distance. Steve keeps quiet but from the glances sent your way, you know he wants to listen to what you have to say. 

“We did talk about you,” You admit, clenching your fists tightly as you string all your courage together to continue, “And I said some things that I shouldn’t have, I know that, and it wasn’t my place but-” 

“What sort of things?” Steve interrupts again, his head turned towards you slightly. His voice is back to normal, no anger; he only wants to know why. 

It kills you that it’s come to this; to mend his heart, you have to break your own. It feels unfair because you’ve already had it broken by him, in so many ways that he doesn’t even understand.

“That she… didn’t deserve you. That it was bullshit to keep leading you on when her feelings had clearly changed.”

Steve winces. It had been obvious to everyone - except him. 

“I didn’t think this would happen. And… I’m sorry, Steve.”

The apology eases his chest of a weight he didn’t realize he was carrying. Steve laughs lightly, his throat clammed up in emotion. In a wave, he realizes how much he missed his best friend and turns to you, a smile pulling at his lips. 

“It’s okay, I forgive you.”

Your attention snaps to him, brows raised in surprise at his seemingly effortless dismissal of your actions; you didn’t expect him to take it this well. Steve’s grin only grows at your reaction, undoubtedly able to sense your puzzlement with him. If you were able to smoothly take his apology last November, why shouldn’t he be able to return the favor?

“Really, it’s okay,” Steve continues when you don’t answer, "You know, I wish I knew sooner, how she felt. Would've saved me a lot of trouble."

“I should've told you," You mutter, wiping away a stray tear from your cheek, "I feel like I knew it was gonna happen." 

"What do you mean?" 

You take a shaky breath, realizing what you have to reveal. But with everything that’s been uncovered over the past few days, you understand that he deserves to know.

"Nancy and I, we um-"

Words escape you before you can finish. You've wanted to keep your past with her out of it, you never wanted to tell him, never wanted to make it about her. You didn't want to jinx it - losing your best friend to the shadow of your old one. Ironically, you almost did.

A part of you is still afraid to admit it; you think that putting it out in the open will somehow confirm what happened, confirm the pain that you silently endured for so long. Secretly, you always hoped that Nancy would want to come back to you, be your friend again after all those years. You still smile when you think about the memories made with her.

But after the events of this week, you’re not so sure you’d want that.

"When our family moved to Hawkins a few years ago, Mike and Dustin were friends first," You finally speak again, pacing yourself as you relive it, "I met Nancy through them and from that point forward, we were practically sisters.”

Your lips curl into a small smile at the thought of that spring day; a delicate lavender bow kept her hair from her eyes. God, you two couldn’t have been more different.

Nancy was soft-spoken and you weren’t, she kept to herself when you didn’t, and she dreamed of a life far from here while you didn’t mind the small town scene. But that’s different; now, you’re like she used to be.

You almost don’t recognize yourself.

“Where one of us went, the other followed," You shiver slightly at the cold breeze, swallowing harshly as you come to the worst part; just the thought of it makes your stomach churn.

Your eyes had unknowingly focused forwards, and they dart from Hopper’s truck to the gravel by your feet, "Until we got paired up with Barb for a science project."

And in that moment, Steve starts to understand. You were always so much quieter when Nancy was around, and you could barely glance at him when she was brought up in conversation; he always thought you just never liked them together. But he never expected that this would’ve been the reason why.

"We used to talk everyday. And then-" Your voice finally starts to falter, filled with the painful memories that you’ve tried to avoid, "One day, she just stopped calling. She stopped visiting me by my locker, stopped wanting to talk every time I came to the door for Mike."

"I know what it looks like to get thrown away by Nancy because it happened to me, and I can guarantee you that she was getting ready to ditch Barb for you last fall and-"

"And me for Jonathan," Steve finishes, his eyes focused down like yours. You turn to him, heart heavy at the hurt expression that he can't help but let wash over his features.

"Yeah."

The revelation settles in the air for a moment as it washes over you; it’s completely still, except for the occasional gust of wind that causes you to curl into yourself for warmth.

"So, in that case," Steve breaks the silence, wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve, "Why were you so sure I wouldn't want to talk to you anymore? After knocking some sense into Nancy?"

You're thankful that he's able to put a positive spin on his situation, because as far as you're concerned, there's nothing good about what this has caused. Even though it seems you’re on good terms again, a piece of you still aches with rejection and anger.

And although you can't tell him the whole truth - the real reason why you became so meek at those words he spoke in the hall, that doesn't mean you have to lie to him entirely.

"I've always had the kids, but it’s never been the same. You know, they just..." 

“Don’t get it?”

You laugh lightly after Steve finishes for you; it’s as if he took the words right out of your mouth, “Pretty much.”

Your fingers absently play with each other, a failed effort at a distraction for your brain, "I just figured that you know, at some point or another, you would leave me like she did. I just... I thought that was it."

Steve doesn’t know what to say.

He knows what he wants to tell you - that he’d never leave, you’ve grown to be too important to him for that to happen. But that’d be a lie.

He  _ was  _ willing to never speak with you again, he ended things right then and there inside the school hall. He would only be able to promise it would never happen again.

Steve shudders at that. He can’t believe he repeated what Nancy did, regardless of the fact that he didn’t know. But he understands why you didn’t mention it - some things hurt a bit too much to remember again and again. 

Your gaze finally moves upward, and your eyes lock with Steve’s, already focused on you. His are soft and filled with a sadness that matches your own; it brings a strange sense of closure. 

The pain etched over your face changes something in him. It’s just under the surface, right out of view, but he knows you well enough to notice. It feels like someone’s pulling his heart in seven different directions, filling his chest with this ache that spreads rapidly through his limbs.

He hasn’t felt that since speaking with Nancy for the first time. But with the gut-wrenching revelation given earlier in the week, he starts to realize something else, something else he’s not quite sure he’s ready to admit.

“I’m sorry,” He mutters, voice quiet and gentle as it reaches your ears, “For everything.”

He wants to apologize for all of it; Nancy’s actions,  _ his own _ , god knows what else. The idea of you going through anymore pain makes Steve want to boil over in anger.

You don’t have to think twice about forgiving him because your feelings are still so strong, you think that you would’ve done so anyways. It’s always been him.

“It’s okay,” Your words are barely audible; they’re only meant for him. Steve’s expression lightens a touch at your tone, because it’s so packed with emotion, just like your face - all he wants to do is decipher how you’re feeling, what’s going through your head.

“You know she never loved me? After everything we went through?” Steve gestures back to the house, and you’re baffled with how plainly he states it. You simply nod before shifting your feet on the steps, swallowing harshly before answering, “She mentioned it, yeah.”

The air is silent as he exhales deeply, casting his attention back to the ground for a moment as he processes. 

_ But I do. _

It almost comes out - your mouth even opens slightly to let them escape but thank god, he’s speaking again first.

“Maybe it should’ve been you.”

Because _of course_ , he thinks; you’ve been here this whole time.

You gladly welcomed him into your life and showed him the world through new eyes, gave him something else to focus on other than those stupid standards he used to be so keen on keeping. You’ve always been there. And maybe, it’s the most idiotic thing he could have ever done - not seeing you.

When he thinks about how Nancy pushed you away, something just  _ hurts _ . And once he ponders it a bit more, it starts to become clear, like coming through a fog. Maybe you two are meant to be  _ more  _ than friends - he decides that Nancy opened the door for him to find  _ you _ .

A shallow inhale is pulled into your lungs at his words. Your jaw drops slightly when he finally brings his gaze back to you, and his eyes carry so much more emotion in them than you’ve ever seen directed your way.

You almost want to laugh. It seems absolutely ridiculous, the idea of him thinking of you that way. 

Because it’s  _ Steve and you _ ; you’ve been joined at the hip for almost a year. It was the friendship that no one saw coming - not even your brother believed it until he witnessed how torn apart you were. You’ve spent all your time thinking that he’d never want to be more than friends, you haven’t stopped to wonder that maybe he would.

You’ve always been insistent with the notion that Steve would  _ never _ .

But he has  _ that  _ look behind his eyes, and you don’t think you’d be able to resist him even if you wanted to. 

And  _ fuck _ , if that doesn’t make your heart beat rapidly against your ribs. Because there’s a chance. You’re not keen on screwing it up. 

“Guys!” Max’s voice interrupts before you can speak, the clattering of the screen door against the siding makes both you jump. Damn these kids.

“It’s Will. He’s communicating, come on!”

* * *

Feeling Eleven collide into your arms almost sent tears down your face. Her fingers gripped onto your jacket so tightly - you thought she’d never let go. 

“I’ve missed you,” She said into your shoulder, and you didn’t care if she got her eyeliner onto the fabric, you’re just so glad to see her return.

Her admission made a beaming smile erupt over your face, and you pulled her closer as you answered, “Missed you tons too, El.”

With his hands stuffed in his pockets, Steve watched the interaction take place from afar; warmth bloomed in his chest as you tucked stray hair behind her ear. His smile mirrored yours as Eleven tackled your brother next, and Steve relished in the blush that rose in your cheeks when you noticed his focus. He hopes that he’ll be able to do that more often.

Talking Mike down from his ridiculous plan was something neither of you wanted to do, and if you’re honest, you actually liked his idea. It had potential. But Steve’s decided to take this ‘babysitting’ thing seriously, he’s damn sure he’s going to do it right.

“Wait-” Max says after Steve shoots down the boys’ plan; Mike’s grumbling to Dustin as they walk down the hall, “I finally figured it out.” 

One of your brows raises at her words, “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

The mischievous smirk Max has on her face floods you with anxiety, she has a strange twinkle in her eye too. The girl chuckles as she answers, “You’re the one who called my brother today, aren’t you?”

Your eyes widen and you quickly shush her, pulling her aside before she can continue, “Keep your voice down!”

“Woah, hold on a second-” Your head snaps to Steve when he interjects, his confused and thoughtful expression shifts into one of disgust as the gears spin inside his mind. He must’ve heard what she said.

“Hargrove? Are you serious?”

“What’s going on?” Lucas asks. His question causes the boys’ attention to be brought back to where you stand, ears starting to turn pink with embarrassment.

“Out of  _ all  _ the guys you could go out with, you had to pick _ Billy Hargrove _ ? That guy was a dick to you!”

“Steve, hold on, I-”

“Wait, are you serious?” Dustin shouts as he approaches Steve’s side, “That piece of shit?”

You sigh as you glance down at the redhead; she flashes a slight and sympathetic grin. Max pats your shoulder lightly, “Sorry. Didn’t think it’d cause this much of a problem.”

“I can’t believe you were gonna sleep with him!” Dustin continues, throwing his hands wildly in the air as he processes your intentions. Steve nudges him in agreement, yanking the tea towel from his shoulder to wave it in your direction, “Yeah, what the hell were you thinking?”

“You two think I would’ve done  _ that _ ?” You fire back instantly as you begin to feel yourself get worked up over your brother’s accusation, “Who said anything about that? I wasn’t gonna!”

“Oho okay,  _ sure _ ,” Dustin replies, “What else were you gonna do? I’m sure he didn’t invite you on a fuckin’ picnic!”

Mike and Lucas share an uneasy glance when you don’t respond right away, mouth open without an excuse to explain your actions. Well, not one that you’re comfortable giving. The boys’ faces start to scrunch up at what Dustin implies.

“Eww!” Their whining causes you to thread your fingers through your hair in frustration, groaning as Mike goes on, “That’s disgusting! I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“You’re tellin’ me!” Dustin says. 

Steve’s forehead creases as he thinks, “Wait, Hargrove invited her on a picnic?”

“ _ NO! _ ” You and Dustin exclaim before arguing further, with Steve chiming in every time he can. Mike and Lucas have given up trying to intervene - there’s no point in even attempting to when you get like this. 

Max stops listening when she hears the familiar sound of the Camaro speeding down the dirt road; her blood runs cold.


End file.
